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Primatologist Frans de Waal, whose study of chimpanzees and apes helped reveal the reconciliatory and empathic nature of primates— including humans— has died at age 75, said the university where he worked for decades. De Waal, who won multiple awards over his long career, wrote several popular books and in 2007 made Time magazine’s list…
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Indian Institute of Science building in Bengaluru | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN Scientists at Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), in collaboration with scientists from Japan, Denmark and the United States, have developed a synthetic material design that enables them to control the temperature at which a material can overcome electronic ‘traffic jams’ , a transition…
This illustration compares three flowers – summer snowflake (A, B), blue phlox (C, D), and a blue violet (D, E) – in honeybee false colour (left) and human-visible colours (right). | Photo Credit: Vasas V, et al., 2024, PLOS Biology, CC-BY 4.0 To most people, leaves are green and oranges are orange. But if our…
Read More “Scientists build a camera to ‘show’ how animals see moving things” »
At the graduate/postgraduate degree level, most girls opt for arts and science, or nursing and medicine. | Photo Credit: Getty Images International Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8, 2024. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in its ‘Gender Social Norms Index’ quantifies biases against women, capturing people’s attitude on women’s roles along four dimensions:…
A study by Mumbai-based researchers has successfully identified a novel fusion transcript in head and neck cancer patients. Not only did the researchers find the fusion transcript to be a promising therapeutic target for head and neck cancer but also found that an FDA-approved deworming drug called pyrvinium pamoate can be a potential drug to…
Read More “Indian team uses repurposed drug to treat oral cancer subtype” »
While many key traits such as strength, limb length, lifespan and brain size tend to increase with animals’ size, maximum running speeds tend to be greatest in medium-sized animals. Empirical data show that maximum running speed increases up to a critical body mass and then decreases — the fastest runners are of intermediate size. The…
Read More “Why do medium-sized land animals like cheetahs tend to be fastest?” »
Inspired by the classic drinking bird toy, scientists in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China have developed an engine that efficiently converts energy from water evaporation into electricity to power small electronics. The device produces energy outputs exceeding 100 volts — much higher than other techniques that generate electricity from water — and can operate for…
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Questions: 1. In the last period of classical Japan, between around 800 and 1200 AD, people would preserve water as ice during the winter. During the summer, they would shave slivers off this ice, pour a flavoured syrup onto them, and serve them to the aristocracy. What was this dish called? 2. In the 16th…
Compressed metal cans are seen at Indaver Plastics Recycling (IPR) plant in Willebroek, Belgium March 14, 2024. | Photo Credit: Reuters At least 3,000 more chemicals are in plastics — from food packaging to toys to medical devices — than previously estimated by environmental agencies, a report published on Thursday found, raising questions over pollution…
Read More “Chemicals in plastics far more numerous than previous estimates, report says” »
Three killer whales surface through a breathing hole in the ice of Hudson Bay near the community of Inukjuak, Quebec January 9, 2013. | Photo Credit: Reuters Menopause is a rare trait among Earth’s species, known to exist in only a few. Humans are one. Killer whales and four other toothed whales are the others….
Read More “Why did menopause evolve? New study of whales gives some clues” »
